The 66 year old funk and R&B icon will act as a temporary replacement for former Take That star Williams, who is missing three of ‘The X Factor’s live episodes for gigs in Chile, Mexico and Argentina, which were pre-arranged as part of his current Heavy Entertainment tour before he even signed up to the show.

As a result, for the first time in its 11-year history, ‘The X Factor’ will pre-record the live show this Saturday (November 3rd), according to the Mirror, with Rodgers set to be on hand in the studio that day to help mentor Williams’ groups.

Take That lead singer Gary Barlow has accused the producers of ‘The X Factor’ of creating “fake drama” during his time as a judge on the show.

During Barlow’s tenure as head judge on the show between 2011 and 2013, Barlow stated in his latest autobiography ‘A Better Me’ that the producers who worked on ‘The X Factor’ at the time often engaged in deliberately trying to create drama and controversy.

He claimed that producers would often tell the judges what to say about certain contestants, and added that his conversations “always found [their] way to the press”.

The 65 year old star spent an hour on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show this week, and spent much of the time having a go at both Cowell and the set-up of the ITV talent show. ‘The X Factor’ returned for its first show of the year this past weekend, and Osbourne is expected to link up in a month or so for the start of the live shows.

However, speaking about ‘The X Factor’s head judge and progenitor, Osbourne described Cowell as a “f****** pain in the arse” and claimed that he’ll do “whatever” to get his “f****** fat face on the TV”.

Walsh has featured on all but one of the judging panels for each edition of 'The X Factor' going back to its 2004 inception.

Louis Walsh has announced his decision to quit ‘The X Factor’ after what he called 13 “fantastic” years with the talent show.

The 65 year old pop mogul has been the show’s longest serving judge, appearing in all but one of the editions of ‘The X Factor’ since it began way back in 2004.

“I’ve had a fantastic 13 years on ‘The X Factor’ but the show needs a change and I'm ready to leave,” said Walsh in a statement. He added that he would remain a judge on another talent show, ‘Ireland's Got Talent’, as well as focussing more on “my day job as a manager, writing my memoirs and seeing the world.”

Cardle suffered a dramatic fall from grace in the years following his 'X Factor' win in 2010.

Matt Cardle, a former winner of ‘The X Factor’, has opened up about his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction in the aftermath of a dramatic downturn in his career in the years following his victory.

The singer-songwriter, now 34, got a brilliant start to his fledgling music career in 2010 when he won ‘The X Factor’, even beating out One Direction to win the ITV talent contest. However, just three years later, Cardle found himself without a record label and having not had a sniff of a hit in ages, and he revealed in a new interview this week that seeing his friends and colleagues become global megastars while he struggled to get noticed hit him hard.

“I got lucky on a number of occasions not to have been found f***ing cold,” he told The Sun on Tuesday (March 13th). “I was being rejected left, right and centre for a record, for all of this kind of stuff. And none of it was bitterness, but it’s just frustration about my fall from grace.”

Just over a year after he quit ‘The X Factor’, Olly Murs has committed the egregious pop star sin of betrayal of Simon Cowell, announcing that he’s set to become a judge on the next series of ‘The Voice UK’.

Murs will be taking up the spinning chair previously occupied by the departing Gavin Rossdale, and will appear when the show returns on ITV for its seventh series in early 2018. He’ll be alongside Sir Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson and the ever-present will.i.am on the judging panel, while Emma Willis will return as the host.

“I’m absolutely buzzing about being a coach on ‘The Voice UK’ and can’t wait to sit in the big red chair alongside will, Jennifer and Tom,” 33 year old Murs said in a statement on Wednesday (October 11th) announcing his participation on the singing contest.

64 year old Sharon might be retiring from showbusiness altogether by the end of the year, according to a new interview with The Sun.

This year’s edition of ‘The X Factor’ may prove to be Sharon Osbourne’s last, as she’s suggested that she’s preparing to retire by the end of the year, according to a new interview this week.

The 64 year old former reality star and music mogul told The Sun on Thursday (August 24th) that she had given herself a five-year time frame in which to carry on working before forcing herself to retire, in order to retain her dignity.

Former x factor contestant Chanal Benjilali is unveiled as the replacement to newly departed Frankee Rose who left M.O girl group. The group now consists of Nadine Samuels, Annie Ashcroft and Chanal Benjilali - Sheffield, United Kingdom - Sunday 23rd July 2017

Dixon has only recently finished her regular stint on the judging panel of fellow ITV show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, but was drafted in for ‘The X Factor’ auditions this week after Sharon flew back to Los Angeles in order to seek treatment for the “recurring” problem with her back.

Saara Aalto performs her first live show in London at G-A-Y. The X Factor 2016 runner-up was watched from the side of the stage by her girlfriend Meri Sopanen and Goggle Box star Scarlett Moffatt. - London, United Kingdom - Saturday 7th January 2017